Hanna Perlstein Marcus's Blog, page 2
August 20, 2020
Women’s Equality Day and World Humanitarian Day
August is the month that we celebrate Women’s Equality Day and World Humanitarian Day. It is interesting that they both are celebrated in the same month! It’s a time to reflect on the importance of women’s right to vote and exercise their duty to influence the policies, values, and direction of their government in the United States of America. Women over the past one hundred years have shown their willingness to play important roles in the government when allowed and have often displayed their natural humanitarian attitudes toward those in poverty, those who have been neglected or abused, those who need homes, food, health, and other basic needs, those with mental health and addiction issues, those with developmental disabilities, those who have been oppressed, and veterans who are struggling with PTSD and reconnecting after serving in foreign wars and risking their lives to defend the nation. Currently, women epitomize humanitarianism by their valor in serving as essential workers on the front lines of the Covid pandemic. As an author, I count on women to read my books and glean insights from my words about humanity, kindness, and selflessness. Thank you to them for their immeasurable support and thank you to all those women and men who have served their neighbors and country so well, particularly in such uncertain times!
July 14, 2020
National Tape Measure Day
It seems absurd to celebrate National Tape Measure Day. I have noticed, however, when any electrician, carpet layer, plumber, window installer, carpenter, or other tradesperson does his or her work, the tape measure seems to be the most prominent tool in the arsenal of equipment.
Usually, it is the self-locking tape measure that can be stretched to the desired length and then locked and later contracted when the measuring is completed. The quick deftness with which the handyperson uses the tape measure is a sight to be admired.
As I write my next volume, the last of the “Sidonia” trilogy, I give special tribute to designers and dressmakers, who also make frequent use of a tape measure, although theirs is slightly different than that of the handyperson. My mother, Sidonia’s tape measure was a more flexible one, 60 inches in length with metal ends. Her tape measure was made of strong plastic with clear markings on both sides, starting at both ends. Her measurements of the same person often spanned a period of time so she could compare the changes required in the intended garment.
Essential measurements to note were waist circumference, bust size, hip width, sleeve length, upper arm length, back width, and the dreaded skirt length, leading to the inevitable argument about the number of inches from the floor to mark the hem. She liked it shorter. Measurements would then be taken during various intervals of the dressmaking process to ensure that all pieces fit perfectly. Her deftness with a tape measure was just as impressive as any handyperson.
Indeed, come to think of it, the tape measure is that ubiquitous piece of equipment that any person who works with their hands must learn to master. It is definitely deserving of its own day of recognition.
June 26, 2020
LYA School Honors Hanna on its 75th Anniversary
I am so grateful to be honored by the Lubavitcher Yeshiva
Academy (LYA) as one of four honorees, who are school alumni, to help celebrate
their 75th year as a school.
The virtual celebration will be on Monday, June 29 at 7:30pm at www.lya.org.
I happen to be the oldest honoree, representing some of the
early days at the school, which was then located in a stately old mansion on
Sumner Avenue in the Forest Park area of Springfield, Massachusetts. Our principal was Rabbi Dovid Edelman, who
continued to lead the school until he recently passed away. His impression on
many of the students he mentored through the years was profound and meaningful
and stayed with us throughout the rest of our lives. He truly cared about each
and every student and inspired us to play our part in repairing the world.
Now LYA is accredited and located in a more spacious, modern
building in nearby Longmeadow, still providing a warm, nurturing environment
for students, while at the same time, providing a Jewish foundation with top-notch
academic studies.
Mazel Tov to my fellow honorees, David Novgrad, Shim
(Spencer) Kimball, and Dr. Benjamin Mathis. I hope you can join us on Monday
evening, June 29 at 7:30pm at www.lya.org!
May 10, 2020
Mother’s Day, 2020
My mother died on Mother’s Day, that second Sunday in May when we Americans celebrate motherhood by paying homage to the women who sacrifice so much for the sake of their children.
That’s how my first book in the Sidonia trilogy, Sidonia’s Thread begins. It was a symbolic day that year, which epitomized the ending of a life that each of us mothers can use as a model for our feelings about our own children. Every Mother’s Day brings back the memories of my life with my mother, Sidonia, and the boundless sacrifices she made to ensure that her daughter had a contented life in America. Now I have my own children and grandchildren for whom no sacrifice is too great to surmount.
The Mother’s Day gifts are wonderful and appreciated. But let us be mindful of the real meaning of the holiday, which is this: There will be no greater role in the life of a woman with children than acting as her children’s teacher, counselor, advisor, supporter, friend, confidante, cheerleader, and loving admirer!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who sacrifice every day for the sake of their children! #Mothers Day
April 20, 2020
In honor of Yom HaShoah, A $100 Amazon eGift Card Weekly Giveaway!!
Tonight, April 20, marks the start of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. It has been 75 years since the end of WWII and the liberation of Holocaust survivors #Liberation75, #ctvoicesofhope, #allgenerations.
Sidonia’s Thread is one of the best books to describe the life of a lone Holocaust survivor and her daughter after their immigration to America. It will enchant, inform, and leave you wanting more. In honor of Yom HaShoah, here’s a chance to win a $100 Amazon eGift Card. Just click the link and enter, every day if you wish. If you love #reading, you will love Sidonia’s Thread, whose eBook is free this week Monday thru Friday, and check out the other sponsored books as well.. Giveaway ends April 26, 2020. Click here for details: http://ow.ly/xVxj50zihb7
Would you like a free eBook version this week of Sidonia’s Thread? Click here!
April 10, 2020
Pandemics – A Family’s Experience,1918 and Now
My Aunt Margit, the sister my mother never knew, died as an
adolescent, a victim of the Swine Flu pandemic of 1918. Margit was the cleverest
and most studious of Simon and Hani’s six children and warranted enrollment in
advanced studies in the nearby large city, an opportunity not offered in their
small agricultural Hungarian village. Her parents were certain that she had
acquired the disease in the big city and regretted enrolling her in advanced
education for the rest of their lives. My mother, Sidonia, was only six when
her sister passed away and never knew Margit well.
Our current involvement with the Covid-19 pandemic reminds
me of this story that my mother relayed to me on many occasions. In the early
twentieth century, contraction of a mysterious disease must have been even more
difficult than our present-day situation. We now have the technology and
communication systems that assist us in understanding what we, as a society,
must do to stem the flow of the epidemic, even though we are learning more
about the effects and science of it every day.
Yet, we likely blame ourselves for possible interaction with those who may have transmitted disease to our loved ones or perhaps to us. Yet, just as with the pandemic of more than a hundred years ago, we should bear no blame. On the contrary, we should consider ourselves models of constraint in foregoing our regular lives and caring for others in our family and community. Most of all, we should honor and respect our heroes in the health care community for their exceptional courage and commitment.
The image shows Sidonia’s family home in Damoc, Hungary. Photo taken in 1983.
March 12, 2020
Post International Womens’ Day
Sure, this past Sunday was International Women’s Day, but
shouldn’t we celebrate women every day? Isn’t it women who provide the
tempering hand to men to sometimes prevent their rash decisions? Isn’t it women
who have the skill and level-headedness to provide leadership in business,
legal, social, cultural, health, and governmental affairs just as competently
as men, or even more so?
We’ve come a long way from the time that saw Harvard
University offer me a job in their clerical pool when I graduated from the
University of Massachusetts with a degree in psychology. And I couldn’t even
type! I’m pleased that the world has changed enough to realize that women can
compete for the same opportunities as men. Our society has moved forward in a
way unimaginable even a generation ago.
I’m fortunate to have had an excellent role model in my
mother, Sidonia, who thrived in America as a single-mother Holocaust survivor.
She always exhibited her drive and ambitions to not only create a safe home
environment, but to present her breathtaking talent at creative design to her
universe. Her attitude and perspective on the role of women must have rubbed
off on me.
There is a lot of work still ahead, but I know we are up to
the task. Let’s celebrate women each and every day. We’re worth it!
February 10, 2020
Why I Like/Don’t Like Book Expos
I recently participated in a Book Expo as part of a celebration of Main Street in a town in Connecticut. When the organizers of the Expo offered me the opportunity to participate, I hesitated for a little while. I was not sure how I should respond.
While I relished the chance to meet readers, other authors, and act as part of an overall project to promote the tradition, enticement, and ambience of a New England Main Street, I also knew that often an author does not sell or sign too many books at that kind of venue and that I would be competing with other authors for the visitors’ time and attention. Was it really worth my while to transport my books and my table set-up, prepare my Square for charge card purchases, and make sure that I had a sufficient number of books in my inventory as well as cash for change in case of a cash transaction? At first glance, I thought maybe not.
So, to make the correct decision, I had to decide whether, on balance, the opportunity to meet and interact with my fellow local authors (and this is a major factor since an author’s work tends to be very solitary), observe the dynamics of the venue (in this case a library), have reasonable transportation costs, and meet some old and new book fans (It does my heart good to hear others enjoy my work.), were enough to offset the probable minimal number of book sales. An author event, where I am the featured author and can provide an audience with more juicy tidbits about my books is an easier decision.
I’ve been known to decide in either direction about Expos, but this time, I acceded to attend. While schlepping my books in and out of the building was not the most positive aspect of the event, I enjoyed the chance to chat and commiserate with other local independent authors in attendance whose experiences were similar to mine, appreciated seeing how a library deals with a fairly large number of patrons in one evening, and expounded with visitors on some of the stories contained in my books. And… I sold a few as well!
I will probably continue to confront similar decisions about my participation in book events in the future and will evaluate the pluses and minuses of each one before I make my final determination. However, this time, the final decision to attend paid off! Thanks Mary Cheney Library in Manchester, CT!
However… also thank heaven for Amazon!
November 19, 2019
Author Visits in Connecticut
Hanna has been busy appearing at classes this fall for retirees at Learning in Retirement at Stamford, CT’s Temple Beth El and at MILE, the Middlesex Institute for Lifelong Learning, at Middlesex Community College in Middletown, CT. She learned as much from all of them as they may have learned from her!
She also appeared as the featured speaker at the Stonecroft Women’s Connection Brunch at the Inn at Woodstock Hill in Woodstock, CT, in Connecticut’s quiet corner. Table centerpieces, befitting a talk about a master dressmaker, consisted of fabric swatches surrounded by spools of thread. Her fellow speaker was Jean Steber, who offered some inspirational tales of her life to an attentive audience. The attendees also had an opportunity to view one of Sidonia’s ensembles up close and converse with the author at a nearby Meet and Greet!
These were truly enjoyable and educational (for Hanna) author visits!
November 4, 2019
$400 Black Friday Giveaway 2019
Enter for a chance to win a $400 Amazon Gift eCard, sponsored by Kindle Book Review. Just click the link and enter every day if you want. Giveaway ends on November 23, 2019. http://ow.ly/Wwbq50x1hNn
